U.S. patent application number 15/520596 was filed with the patent office on 2017-10-26 for touch control electrode structure, touch screen and display apparatus.
The applicant listed for this patent is BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD., CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Shan GAO, Weiyun HUANG, Tingliang LIU.
Application Number | 20170307924 15/520596 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 54575094 |
Filed Date | 2017-10-26 |
United States Patent
Application |
20170307924 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIU; Tingliang ; et
al. |
October 26, 2017 |
TOUCH CONTROL ELECTRODE STRUCTURE, TOUCH SCREEN AND DISPLAY
APPARATUS
Abstract
A touch electrode structure, a touch panel and a display device
are provided. The touch electrode structure includes at least one
touch electrode group. The at least one touch electrode group is
arranged around a center; each touch electrode group includes a
plurality of touch electrodes, the plurality of touch electrodes in
each touch electrode group are arranged in the direction from the
position closer to the center to the position further away from the
center respectively; and a size of a side portion of each touch
electrode away from the center along a circumferential direction is
greater than a size of a side portion of the touch electrode close
to the center along a circumferential direction. The touch
electrode structure may be applied in a non-rectangular (irregular)
touch panel, according to the requirements, the touch electrode
structure can effectively and completely cover the non-rectangular
(irregular) touch panel.
Inventors: |
LIU; Tingliang; (Beijing,
CN) ; GAO; Shan; (Beijing, CN) ; HUANG;
Weiyun; (Beijing, CN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
BOE TECHNOLOGY GROUP CO., LTD.
CHENGDU BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD. |
Beijing
Chengdu, Sichuan |
|
CN
CN |
|
|
Family ID: |
54575094 |
Appl. No.: |
15/520596 |
Filed: |
February 3, 2016 |
PCT Filed: |
February 3, 2016 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/CN2016/073282 |
371 Date: |
April 20, 2017 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F 1/1343 20130101;
G06F 3/03547 20130101; G06F 3/0412 20130101; G06F 2203/04103
20130101; G02F 1/13338 20130101; G06F 3/0443 20190501; G06F 3/044
20130101 |
International
Class: |
G02F 1/1333 20060101
G02F001/1333; G02F 1/1343 20060101 G02F001/1343; G06F 3/041
20060101 G06F003/041; G06F 3/044 20060101 G06F003/044 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Sep 15, 2015 |
CN |
201510587830.3 |
Claims
1. A touch electrode structure, comprising at least one touch
electrode group, wherein the at least one touch electrode group is
arranged around a center; each touch electrode group comprises a
plurality of touch electrodes, the plurality of touch electrodes in
each touch electrode group are arranged in a direction from a
position closer to the center to a position further away from the
center respectively; and a size of a side portion of each touch
electrode away from the center along a circumferential direction is
greater than a size of a side portion of the touch electrode close
to the center along the circumferential direction.
2. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
arranged along a ray in the direction from the position closer to
the center to the position further away from the center
respectively; and the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch
electrode group are arranged by taking the ray as a center
line.
3. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein in
the plurality of touch electrodes of each touch electrode group, an
average size of the touch electrodes further away from the center
along the circumferential direction is greater than an average size
of the touch electrodes closer to the center along the
circumferential direction.
4. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein a
shape of the plurality of touch electrodes as a whole comprises an
annular sector or a trapezoid.
5. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the
touch electrode structure comprises a plurality of touch electrode
groups; and circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes in the
plurality of touch electrode groups are disposed in an annular
sector region, a ring region, a polygonal region or a polygonal
ring region.
6. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein each
touch electrode group is disposed in an annular sector region or a
trapezoidal region; and the plurality of touch electrodes in each
touch electrode group almost cover the annular sector region or the
trapezoidal region.
7. The touch electrode structure according to claim 6, wherein each
touch electrode group is disposed in an annular sector region, and
circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in an
annular sector region or a ring region; or each touch electrode
group is disposed in a trapezoidal region, and the
circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in a
polygonal region or a polygonal ring region.
8. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein
radial sizes of the touch electrodes arranged in the direction from
the position closer to the center to the position further away from
the center are sequentially reduced.
9. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein an
area of each touch electrode is equal or roughly equal.
10. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein at
least one touch electrode in each touch electrode group comprises a
plurality of circumferentially arranged sub-touch electrodes.
11. The touch electrode structure according to claim 10, wherein an
area of each sub-touch electrode and an area of each touch
electrode are equal or roughly equal.
12. The touch electrode structure according to claim 10, wherein a
shape of the plurality of sub-touch electrodes as a whole comprises
a polygon.
13. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, further
comprising a center touch electrode, wherein the center touch
electrode is disposed at the center.
14. The touch electrode structure according to claim 1, wherein the
touch electrode structure is disposed in a non-rectangular
region.
15. The touch electrode structure according to claim 14, wherein
the non-rectangular region comprises a sector region, an annular
sector region, a circular region, a ring region, a polygonal region
and a polygonal ring region.
16. A touch panel, comprising the touch electrode structure
according to claim 1.
17. A display device, comprising the touch electrode structure
according to claim 1.
18. The display device according to claim 17, further comprising a
display panel, wherein the touch electrode structure is disposed on
the display panel.
19. The display device according to claim 17, further comprising a
display panel and a touch panel disposed on a display side of the
display panel, wherein the touch electrode structure is disposed on
the touch panel.
20. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the display
device comprises a liquid crystal display device or an organic
light-emitting diode display device.
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure relates to
a touch electrode structure, a touch panel and a display
device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] As a new human-computer interaction device, touch panels
greatly improve the efficiency and the convenience of man-machine
interaction due to the characteristics of directness, high
efficiency, accuracy, smoothness and fashion, and thus
entertainment and official business become more lively and relaxed.
Touch panels may be divided into a resistive type, a capacitive
type and an infrared optical type, etc. The capacitive touch is
mostly widely used in many touch technologies, and particularly a
self-capacitive touch is widely used due to the light and thin
properties of a touch panel formed by the self-capacitive
touch.
[0003] A self-capacitive touch panel comprises a touch electrode
array made of transparent conductive materials (for example, indium
tin oxide (ITO)) and disposed on a base substrate, and capacitors
are formed by the touch electrodes and the ground respectively. In
the case that the self-capacitive touch panel is touched by a
finger, the capacitance of the finger will be overlapped to the
corresponding touch electrode, and a touch detection chip
determines a touch position by detecting the capacitance variation
of the touch electrodes in a touch period.
[0004] On the other hand, with the development of intelligent
technology, intelligent wearable devices such as watches, Google
glasses and wristbands are more and more favored by consumers. In
addition to the features of thin, light, stylish and intelligent,
almost all of the devices need a property of touch, and a good
touch experience wins the market.
SUMMARY
[0005] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
touch electrode structure, a touch panel and a display device. The
touch electrode structure may be applied in a non-rectangular
(irregular) touch panel, according to the requirements, the touch
electrode structure can effectively and completely cover the
non-rectangular (irregular) touch panel, and the defects of
inaccurate reporting, poor linearity and the like caused by the
incomplete coverage of touch electrodes at edges or corners of the
touch panel are avoided.
[0006] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
touch electrode structure, and the touch electrode structure
comprises at least one touch electrode group, the at least one
touch electrode group is arranged around a center; each touch
electrode group comprises a plurality of touch electrodes, the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
arranged in a direction from a position closer to the center to a
position further away from the center respectively; and a size of a
side portion of each touch electrode away from the center along a
circumferential direction is greater than a size of a side portion
of the touch electrode close to the center along the
circumferential direction.
[0007] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, the plurality of touch
electrodes in each touch electrode group are arranged along a ray
in the direction from the position closer to the center to the
position further away from the center respectively; and the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
arranged by taking the ray as a center line.
[0008] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, in the plurality of touch
electrodes of each touch electrode group, an average size of the
touch electrodes further away from the center along the
circumferential direction is greater than an average size of the
touch electrodes closer to the center along the circumferential
direction.
[0009] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, a shape of the plurality
of touch electrodes as a whole comprises an annular sector or a
trapezoid.
[0010] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, a number of the touch
electrode groups is plural; and circumferentially adjacent touch
electrodes in the plurality of touch electrode groups are disposed
in an annular sector region, a ring region, a polygonal region or a
polygonal ring region.
[0011] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, each touch electrode
group is disposed in an annular sector region or a trapezoidal
region; and the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch
electrode group almost cover the annular sector region or the
trapezoidal region.
[0012] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, each touch electrode
group is disposed in an annular sector region, and
circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in an
annular sector region or a ring region; or each touch electrode
group is disposed in a trapezoidal region, and the
circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in a
polygonal region or a polygonal ring region.
[0013] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, radial sizes of the touch
electrodes arranged in the direction from the position closer to
the center to the position further away from the center are
sequentially reduced.
[0014] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, an area of each touch
electrode is equal or roughly equal.
[0015] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, at least one touch
electrode in each touch electrode group comprises a plurality of
circumferentially arranged sub-touch electrodes.
[0016] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, an area of each sub-touch
electrode and an area of each touch electrode are equal or roughly
equal.
[0017] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, a shape of the plurality
of sub-touch electrodes as a whole comprises a polygon.
[0018] For example, the touch electrode structure provided in one
embodiment of the present disclosure further comprises a center
touch electrode, and the center touch electrode is disposed at the
center.
[0019] For example, the touch electrode structure provided in one
embodiment of the present disclosure is disposed in a
non-rectangular region.
[0020] For example, in the touch electrode structure provided in
one embodiment of the present disclosure, the non-rectangular
region comprises a sector region, an annular sector region, a
circular region, a ring region, a polygonal region and a polygonal
ring region.
[0021] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
touch panel, and the touch panel comprises any one of the
above-mentioned touch electrode structure.
[0022] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
display device, and the display device comprises any one of the
above-mentioned touch electrode structure.
[0023] For example, the display device provided in one embodiment
of the present disclosure further comprises a display panel, and
the touch electrode structure is disposed on the display panel.
[0024] For example, in the display device provided in one
embodiment of the present disclosure, the display device comprises
a liquid crystal display device or an organic light-emitting diode
display device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0025] In order to clearly illustrate the technical solutions of
the embodiments of the present disclosure, the drawings of the
embodiments will be briefly described in the following. It is
obvious that the described drawings are only related to some
embodiments of the present disclosure and thus are not limitative
of the disclosure.
[0026] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram in which rectangular touch
electrodes cannot completely cover or exceed a non-rectangular
display panel or a non-rectangular touch panel;
[0027] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a touch electrode structure
provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0028] FIG. 3a is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which each touch electrode group is disposed in a sector
region;
[0029] FIG. 3b is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which each touch electrode group is disposed in a trapezoidal
region;
[0030] FIG. 4a is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which a plurality of circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes
are disposed in a ring region;
[0031] FIG. 4b is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which a plurality of circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes
are disposed in a polygonal ring region;
[0032] FIG. 4c is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which a plurality of circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes
are disposed in an annular sector region;
[0033] FIG. 4d is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure in
which a plurality of circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes
are disposed in a polygonal region;
[0034] FIG. 5a is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure further comprising a center touch electrode provided by
one embodiment of the present disclosure (all the touch electrodes
almost cover a circular region);
[0035] FIG. 5b is a schematic diagram of the touch electrode
structure further comprising a center touch electrode provided by
one embodiment of the present disclosure (all the touch electrodes
almost cover a sector region);
[0036] FIG. 6a is a schematic diagram of via holes corresponding to
a center touch electrode and a plurality of touch electrodes in
each touch electrode group in the touch electrode structure
provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0037] FIG. 6b is a schematic diagram of a center touch electrode,
a plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group,
sub-touch electrodes, and via holes corresponding to the sub-touch
electrodes in the touch electrode structure provided by one
embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0038] FIG. 6c is a schematic diagram in which one part of a base
substrate of a touch panel is covered by the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0039] FIG. 6d is a schematic diagram in which one part of a base
substrate of a touch panel is covered by the touch electrode
structure provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure, and
the plurality of touch electrodes in the touch electrode group are
divided into a plurality of sub-touch electrodes;
[0040] FIG. 6e is a schematic diagram of a touch panel provided by
one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0041] FIG. 7a is a schematic diagram of a touch panel or a display
device provided by one embodiment of the present disclosure;
[0042] FIG. 7b is another schematic diagram of a touch panel or a
display device provided by one embodiment of the present
disclosure; and
[0043] FIG. 7c is another schematic diagram of a touch panel or a
display device provided by one embodiment of the present
disclosure.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0044] 10--touch electrode group; 20--center; 101--touch electrode;
011--side portion of touch electrode close to the center; 012--side
portion of touch electrode away from the center; 1011--first touch
electrode; 1012--second touch electrode; 1013--third touch
electrode; 1010--sub-touch electrode; 102--center touch electrode;
105--conventional touch electrode; 100--base substrate; 111--wire;
112--touch detection chip; 114--insulating layer; 121--circular
region; 122--polygonal ring region; 123--annular sector region;
124--polygonal region; 125--trapezoidal region; 151--via hole;
160--touch panel; 180--display panel; 1801--lower substrate;
1802--upper substrate.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0045] In order to make objects, technical details and advantages
of the embodiments of the disclosure apparent, the technical
solutions of the embodiment will be described in a clearly and
fully understandable way in connection with the drawings related to
the embodiments of the disclosure. It is obvious that the described
embodiments are just a part but not all of the embodiments of the
disclosure. Based on the described embodiments herein, those
skilled in the art can obtain other embodiment(s), without any
inventive work, which should be within the scope of the
disclosure.
[0046] Unless otherwise defined, all the technical and scientific
terms used herein have the same meanings as commonly understood by
one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure
belongs. The terms "first," "second," etc., which are used in the
description and the claims of the present application for
disclosure, are not intended to indicate any sequence, amount or
importance, but distinguish various components. Also, the terms
such as "a," "an," etc., are not intended to limit the amount, but
indicate the existence of at lease one. The terms "comprises,"
"comprising," "includes," "including," etc., are intended to
specify that the elements or the objects stated before these terms
encompass the elements or the objects and equivalents thereof
listed after these terms, but do not preclude the other elements or
objects. The phrases "connect", "connected", etc., are not intended
to define a physical connection or mechanical connection, but may
include an electrical connection, directly or indirectly. "on,"
"under," "right," "left" and the like are only used to indicate
relative position relationship, and when the position of the object
which is described is changed, the relative position relationship
may be changed accordingly.
[0047] In general, the shapes of touch panels of intelligent
devices are not limited to the usual rectangle, a plurality of
shapes such as a circle, an octagon or the like are also adopted,
so as to satisfy user's requirements of fashion and beauty. As
touch panels of most intelligent wearable devices are in
non-rectangular (irregular) shapes, the conventional touch
electrode structure applied in a rectangular device is no longer
applicable. Many problems may be caused in the case that the
conventional touch electrode structure is continuously applied in
the irregular touch panels. For instance, touch electrodes at the
edges of display regions or at the edges of touch regions are
difficult to design. As the edge of an irregular display panel or
an irregular touch panel is usually in a cambered and polygonal
shape but the general touch electrode patterns are rectangular and
cannot well match with it, touch electrodes at edge areas of
display regions or touch regions cannot completely cover the edge
of the display regions or the touch regions. Due to the incomplete
or uneven coverage of the touch electrodes at an edge or a corner
of the touch panel or the exceeding of the display regions, the
touch accuracy cannot be guaranteed, and hence the defects such as
inaccurate reporting or poor linearity are occurred.
[0048] As illustrated in FIG. 1, patterns of touch electrodes in
the conventional touch panels mainly adopt rectangular patterns.
With the non-rectangular (irregular) displays, such as circular
displays, are increasingly widely used, rectangular touch electrode
patterns cannot well match with the edge of the touch panel or the
edge of the display panel, so that the touch electrodes at edge
areas of touch regions or the edge areas of display regions cannot
completely cover the edges of the display regions or the edges of
the touch regions, or patterns of the touch electrodes will exceed
the display regions. Thus, the touch accuracy cannot be guaranteed,
and hence the defects such as inaccurate reporting or poor
linearity are occurred. For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a
rectangular array in FIG. 1 represents patterns of touch
electrodes. A circular in FIG. 1 represents an irregular touch
panel or a display panel, or an irregular touch region or a display
region.
[0049] At least one embodiment of the present disclosure provides a
touch electrode structure, and the touch electrode structure
comprises at least one touch electrode group, the at least one
touch electrode group is arranged around a center; each touch
electrode group comprises a plurality of touch electrodes, the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
arranged in a direction from a position closer to the center to a
position further away from the center respectively, and a size of a
side portion of each touch electrode away from the center along a
circumferential direction is greater than a size of a side portion
of the touch electrode close to the center along the
circumferential direction.
[0050] The touch electrode structure may be applied in a
non-rectangular touch panel, which is capable of solving the
problems such as inaccurate reporting, poor linearity and the like
caused by the incomplete or uneven coverage of the touch electrodes
at the edges or corners of the touch panel, the application range
of the touch devices is extended, the control difficulty is
reduced. Non-rectangle, for instance, comprises the shapes of
circle, ring, sector, annular sector, polygon and polygonal
ring.
[0051] Description will be given below with reference to several
embodiments.
First Embodiment
[0052] The present embodiment provides a touch electrode structure,
as illustrated in FIG. 2, the touch electrode structure comprises a
plurality of touch electrode groups 10, the plurality of touch
electrode groups 10 are arranged around a center 20. Each touch
electrode group 10 includes a plurality of touch electrodes 101.
The plurality of touch electrodes 101 in each touch electrode group
10 are arranged in a direction from a position closer to the center
20 to a position further away from the center 20 respectively, and
a size of a side portion 012 of each touch electrode 101 away from
the center along a circumferential direction is greater than a size
of a side portion 011 of the touch electrode close to the center
along the circumferential direction.
[0053] FIG. 2 illustrates eight touch electrode groups 10, and each
touch electrode group 10 includes three touch electrodes 101. It
should be noted that, FIG. 2 is only illustrative and the number of
the touch electrode groups and the number of the touch electrodes
in each touch electrode group are not limited to cases as
illustrated. The number of the touch electrode groups and the
number of the touch electrodes in each touch electrode group may be
set as required. The following embodiments are the same in this
aspect.
[0054] For instance, in one example of the present embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 2, the plurality of touch electrodes in each
touch electrode group 10 may be arranged in a line, for instance,
arranged linearly. For instance, arranged in ray, the plurality of
touch electrodes 101 in each touch electrode group 10 are arranged
along a ray in the direction from the position closer to the center
to the position further away from the center respectively; and the
plurality of touch electrodes 101 in the touch electrode group 10
are arranged by taking the ray as a center line. Dotted lines in
FIG. 2 represent rays respectively.
[0055] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the plurality of
touch electrode groups are dispersedly arranged around the center
20. For instance, each touch electrode group corresponds to a ray
which takes the center 20 as an end point. Thus, the plurality of
touch electrode groups correspond to a plurality of rays taking the
center 20 as the end point. Each ray extends outwards by taking the
center 20 as a starting point. The ray is a straight line provided
with an end point, namely the ray may be infinitely extended
towards one side. The touch electrode structure provided by the
present embodiment is disposed on a base substrate of a touch
panel. In the touch structure, the plurality of touch electrodes in
each touch electrode group are limited to be extended to the edge
of the base substrate of the touch panel. The following embodiments
may be the same in this aspect.
[0056] For instance, in one example of the present embodiment, an
average size of the touch electrodes 101 away from the center along
the circumferential direction is greater than an average size of
the touch electrodes 101 close to the center along the
circumferential direction. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a first touch
electrode 1011, a second touch electrode 1022 and a third touch
electrode 1012 are sequentially arranged in the direction from
being close to the center 20 to being away from the center 20. The
average size of the third touch electrode 1013 along the
circumferential direction is greater than the average size of the
first touch electrode 1011 and greater than the average size of the
second touch electrode 1012 along the circumferential direction.
The average size of the second touch electrode 1012 along the
circumferential direction is greater than the average size of the
first touch electrode 1011 along the circumferential direction.
[0057] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2, each touch electrode
group 10 in the shape of ray; the plurality of touch electrode
groups 10 are sequentially arranged around the center 20 and almost
cover a circular region or an annular sector region.
[0058] It should be noted that, the circumferential direction
described in each embodiment of the present disclosure, for
instance, refers to the circumferential direction of a circle or a
sector taking the center 20 encircled by the plurality of touch
electrode groups as the center of a circle; or the circumferential
direction of a polygon or a polygonal ring taking the center 20
encircled by the plurality of touch electrode groups as the center.
For instance, the circumferential direction of the polygon or the
polygonal ring may be the direction of inner perimeter or outer
perimeter. The center, for instance, refers to the center of a
circle, a symmetric center, a center of gravity, a vertex, etc.,
for instance, refers to the center of a circle, a symmetric center,
a center of gravity, a vertex, etc. of a region completely covered
by the touch electrodes provided by the embodiments of the present
disclosure. The "average size" described in the embodiments of the
present disclosure, for instance, refers to the average value of
the side length of the side portion 012 away from the center and
the side length of the side portion 011 close to the center, or
refers to the average value of the side length of the side portion
012 away from the center in the circumferential direction and the
side length of the side portion 011 close to the center in the
circumferential direction.
[0059] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3a, in one example of
the present embodiment, each touch electrode group 10 may be
disposed in an annular sector region 123, and the plurality of
touch electrodes 101 in each touch electrode group almost cover the
entire annular sector region 123.
[0060] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 3b, in one example of
the present embodiment, each touch electrode group 10 is disposed
in a trapezoidal region 125, and the plurality of touch electrodes
101 in each touch electrode group 10 almost cover the entire
trapezoidal region 125.
[0061] It should be noted that, a region provided with each touch
electrode group represented by the dotted line in FIGS. 3a and 3b,
for instance, refers to a region formed by the mutual connection of
the peripheries of the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch
electrode group, or an annular sector region or a trapezoidal
region with minimum area provided with patterns obtained after the
mutual connection of the peripheries of the plurality of touch
electrodes. "Almost cover(ing)" in the description that the
plurality of touch electrodes 101 almost cover the annular sector
region 123 and the plurality of touch electrodes 101 almost cover
the trapezoidal region 125, for instance, indicates that the area
of the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group
accounts for more than 70% of the area of the region provided with
each touch electrode group. Moreover, for instance, the area of the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group
accounts for more than 80% of the area of the region provided with
each touch electrode group. Furthermore, for instance, the area of
the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group
accounts for more than 90% of the area of the region provided with
each touch electrode group.
[0062] For instance, in one example of the present embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 4a, the number of the touch electrode groups 10
is plural, and the circumferentially adjacent touch electrodes 101
in the plurality of touch electrode groups 10 are disposed in a
ring region 121.
[0063] For instance, in one example of the present embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 4b, each touch electrode group 10 is disposed
in a trapezoidal region, and a plurality of circumferentially
adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in a polygonal ring region
122.
[0064] For instance, in one example of the embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 4c, each touch electrode group 10 is disposed
in an annular sector region, and a plurality of circumferentially
adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in an annular sector region
123.
[0065] For instance, in one example of the embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 4d, each touch electrode group 10 is disposed
in a trapezoidal region, and a plurality of circumferentially
adjacent touch electrodes are disposed in a polygonal region
124.
[0066] It should be noted that, FIG. 4a illustrates the case that
the plurality of touch electrode groups 10 almost cover a circular
region or a ring region. The plurality of touch electrode groups 10
may also almost fully cover the other non-rectangular regions. For
instance, as illustrated in FIG. 4b, the plurality of touch
electrode groups 10 almost cover a polygonal region or a polygonal
ring region, and description is given in the figure by taking a
regular octagon or a regular octagonal ring for example. As
illustrated in FIG. 4c, the plurality of touch electrode groups 10
almost cover an entire sector region or an entire annular sector
region. As illustrated in FIG. 4d, the plurality of touch electrode
groups 10 almost cover an entire polygonal region. As illustrated
in FIGS. 4a to 4d, the plurality of touch electrodes which are the
closest to the center 20 may be close to the center 20 as much as
possible, or close to the center 20 to cover a circular region, a
polygonal region or a sector region on the premise of satisfying
the touch accuracy. In the case that the plurality of touch
electrode groups 10 almost cover an entire ring region, an entire
polygonal ring region or an entire annular sector region, a
plurality of touch electrodes which are the closest to the center
20 may be close to an inner ring of the ring region, the polygonal
ring region or the annular sector region as much as possible. Of
course, in the embodiments of the present disclosure, the touch
electrodes 101 are insulated from each other.
[0067] For instance, in one example of the embodiment, as
illustrated in FIG. 2, in order to satisfy the requirement of
constant resistance, in the plurality of touch electrodes 101 of
each touch electrode group 10, the radial sizes of the touch
electrodes arranged in the direction from being close to the center
20 to being away from the center 20 are sequentially reduced. In
this way, the area of each touch electrode is equal or roughly
equal, so that the touch electrodes with constant resistance are
obtained. The radial direction, for instance, refers to the
direction of each ray taking the center 20 encircled by the touch
electrode groups as an end point. Or, the radial direction, for
instance, refers to the diametric or radial direction of a circle
taking the center 20 encircled by the touch electrode groups as the
center of a circle.
[0068] For instance, the shapes of the plurality of touch
electrodes 101 may be non-rectangular quadrangles, for example, as
illustrated in FIGS. 4a to 4d, the non-rectangular quadrangle
includes an annular sector or a trapezoid.
[0069] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 2, in each touch
electrode group 10, the shape of each touch electrode 101 is an
annular sector. The circumferential length of each annular sector
is larger and larger being away from the center 20 or the center 20
of a circle, and the width (radial size) is smaller and smaller
being away from the center 20 or the center 20 of a circle. For
instance, the width of an annular sector at the furthest end (touch
electrodes which are the farthest from the center 20 or the center
20 of a circle) is not less than 2 mm; the distance between two
adjacent touch electrodes 101, for instance, may be greater than 6
.mu.m; and the circumferential length of the annular sector at the
furthest end, for instance, may be not greater than 6 mm.
[0070] The size of the touch electrodes in each embodiment of the
present disclosure must satisfy the requirement of touch accuracy.
For instance, the density of the touch panel is usually in
millimeter scale. Therefore, the density and the area of each
self-capacitive electrode may be selected according to the required
touch density, so as to ensure the required touch accuracy. For
instance, the area of each touch electrode is greater than or equal
to 4 mm.sup.2 and less than or equal to 36 mm.sup.2. As the density
of a display panel is usually in micrometer scale, in general, a
self-capacitive electrode corresponds to a plurality of sub-pixels
in the display panel.
[0071] For instance, in the present embodiment, the material of the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group is
transparent conductive material, e.g., transparent metal oxide such
as indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium zinc oxide (IZO), which is not
limited thereto. The following embodiments may be the same in this
aspect.
[0072] For instance, the plurality of touch electrodes in each
touch electrode group of the touch electrode structure provided by
the present embodiment is formed by patterning process, which is
not limited thereto. The following embodiments may be the same in
this aspect.
[0073] It should be understood that, in the embodiment of the
present disclosure, the patterning process may only includes
photolithographic process, or includes photolithographic process
and etching process, or includes printing, ink jet and other
processes for forming specific patterns. The photolithographic
process refers to a process of forming patterns via photoresist, a
mask, an exposure machine and the like by the technical processes
such as film forming, exposing and developing. Corresponding
patterning processes may be selected according to the structure
formed in the present embodiment of the present disclosure.
[0074] The touch electrode structure provided by the embodiment may
be disposed in a non-rectangular region, and hence the touch
electrode structure may be applied in a non-rectangular touch
panel. The non-rectangular region, for instance, includes a sector
region, an annular sector region, a circular region, a ring region,
a polygonal region and a polygonal ring region. In addition, the
touch electrode structure may effectively and completely cover the
non-rectangular (irregular) touch panel as required, and hence the
defects such as inaccurate reporting and poor linearity due to
incomplete coverage of touch electrodes at edges or corners of the
touch panel are avoided.
Second Embodiment
[0075] On the basis of the first embodiment, the touch electrode
structure further comprises a center touch electrode 102. The
center touch electrode 102 may be disposed at the center 20.
[0076] As illustrated in FIG. 5a, in one example of the present
embodiment, the center touch electrode 102 and each touch electrode
101 in a plurality of touch electrode groups 10 cover an entire
circular region.
[0077] As illustrated in FIG. 5b, in one example of the present
embodiment, the center touch electrode 102 and each touch electrode
101 in the plurality of touch electrode groups 10 covers an entire
sector region.
[0078] For instance, the center touch electrode 102 and each touch
electrode 101 in the plurality of touch electrode groups 10 cover
an entire polygonal region.
[0079] It should be noted that, the regions completely covered by
the center touch electrode 102 and each touch electrode 101 in the
plurality of touch electrode groups 10 are not limited to the above
examples, and may be determined according to the number of the
touch electrode groups 10, the shape of each touch electrode in the
touch electrode groups and the shape of the center touch electrode
102, etc.
[0080] The arrangement of the center touch electrode can increase
the touch accuracy at the center of the touch panel.
[0081] For instance, in the present embodiment, the material of the
center touch electrode may be transparent conductive material,
e.g., transparent metal oxide such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and
indium zinc oxide (IZO), which is not limited thereto. The
following embodiments may be the same in this aspect.
[0082] For instance, in the touch electrode structure provided by
the present embodiment, the center touch electrode and the
plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
formed by a same patterning process, which is not limited thereto.
The following embodiments may be the same in this aspect.
Third Embodiment
[0083] In the touch electrode structure provided by any one of the
above embodiments, for instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 6a, 6b and
6e, the touch electrode structure further comprises a plurality of
wires 111 (as illustrated in FIG. 6e). Each touch electrode 101 may
be connected with each wire 111 through a via hole 151. Each touch
electrode 101 in each touch electrode group 10 is respectively
electrically connected with each wire 111 to input or output
signals. FIGS. 6a and 6b are plan views of the touch electrode
structure, and FIG. 6e is an A-A' sectional view of FIG. 6a. It
should be noted that, each touch electrode 101 may also be arranged
in the same layer and directly connected with each wire 111, which
is not limited herein.
[0084] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 6e, a plurality of
wires 111 are disposed on a base substrate 100; and an insulating
layer 114 is disposed on a layer provided with the plurality of
wires 111, and the insulating layer 114 is provided with a
plurality of via holes 151. For instance, the via holes 151 are
through holes passed through the insulating layer 114. The center
touch electrode 102 and each touch electrode 101 in each touch
electrode group 10 are disposed on the insulating layer 114. And
the center touch electrode 102 and each touch electrode 101 in each
touch electrode group 10 are electrically connected with the wires
through the via holes 151 respectively. For instance, the center
touch electrode 102 and the touch electrodes 101 in the touch
electrode groups 10 are connected with different wires
respectively. In the case that the center touch electrode is not
arranged, the wire connected with the center touch electrode is
also not arranged. For instance, the structure as illustrated in
FIG. 6e may form a touch panel 160.
[0085] For instance, in order to satisfy the requirement of
constant resistance, in the plurality of touch electrodes 101 of
the touch electrode groups 10, besides the means that the radial
sizes of the touch electrodes arranged in the direction from being
close to the center 20 to being away from the center 20 are
sequentially reduced adopted, and the means as illustrated in FIG.
6b may also be adopted, in which at least one touch electrode in
the touch electrode group 10 may be divided into a plurality of
sub-touch electrodes 1010 arranged in the circumferential
direction, namely the at least one touch electrode 101 in the touch
electrode group 10 includes a plurality of sub-touch electrodes
1010 arranged in the circumferential direction. As illustrated in
FIG. 6b, in each touch electrode group 10, the touch electrode
which is the closest to the center 20 is not divided, and the
outermost touch electrode 101 is divided into three
circumferentially arranged sub-touch electrodes 1010. The touch
electrode disposed between the touch electrode 101 which is the
closest to the center and the outermost touch electrode 101 is
divided into two circumferentially arranged sub-touch electrodes
1010. The sub-touch electrodes 1010 are insulated from each other.
The sub-touch electrodes may be electrically connected with
different wires 111 respectively.
[0086] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 6b, in order to satisfy
the requirement of constant resistance, the area of each sub-touch
electrode 1010 is equal or roughly equal; the area of touch
electrode is equal or roughly equal; and the area of each sub-touch
electrode 1010 and the area of each touch electrode 101 are equal
or roughly equal. That is to say, the area of each sub-touch
electrode 1010 is equal to the area of the other touch electrode
101 which is not divided. The size of each sub-touch electrode, for
instance, may refer to the size of the above-mentioned touch
electrode, which is not limited thereto.
[0087] For instance, the shape of the plurality of sub-touch
electrodes includes a polygon, for example, a sector, a trapezoid
and a rectangle, etc.
[0088] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 6c, in one example of
the present embodiment, the touch electrode structure comprises a
touch electrode group 10. The touch electrode group is arranged
around a center 20. The touch electrode group 10 includes a
plurality of touch electrodes 101. The plurality of touch
electrodes 101 in the touch electrode group 10 are all arranged
around the center 20. The plurality of touch electrodes 101 in the
touch electrode group 10 are arranged in the direction from the
position closer to the center to the position further away from the
center respectively, and the size of a side portion 012 of each
touch electrode 101 away from the center along the circumferential
direction is greater than the size of a side portion 011 of the
touch electrode close to the center along the circumferential
direction.
[0089] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 6c, the touch
electrodes in the touch electrode group 10 are arranged in a shape
of ray, for example, the touch electrodes in the touch electrode
group 10 are arranged in a shape of ray by taking the center 20 as
an end point.
[0090] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 6d, at least one touch
electrode 101 in the touch electrode group 10 is divided into a
plurality of circumferentially arranged sub-touch electrodes 1010.
That is to say, the at least one touch electrode 101 in the touch
electrode group 10 includes a plurality of circumferentially
arranged sub-touch electrodes 1010.
[0091] For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 6c and 6d, in addition
to the touch electrode structure provided by the present embodiment
of the present disclosure, other types of touch electrode
structures may also be provided. For instance, touch electrodes
with rectangular patterns 105 may also be provided.
[0092] The touch electrode structure provided by the embodiment of
the present disclosure may cover the entire non-rectangular touch
panel or cover a non-rectangular touch region of the
non-rectangular touch panel (the non-rectangular touch panel
comprises a non-rectangular touch region, besides that, the
non-rectangular touch panel further comprises one or more
rectangular regions. For instance, the touch electrodes in a shape
of conventional rectangular may also be disposed in the rectangular
regions).
[0093] The touch electrode structure provided by at least one
embodiment of the present disclosure not only may be applied in the
conventional flat touch panel but also may be applied in curved
touch panels and even spherical touch panels due to the unique
arrangement mode of touch electrodes, and a good touch effect is
achieved.
Fourth Embodiment
[0094] The present embodiment provides a touch panel, which
comprises any one of the touch electrode structure provided by the
first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third embodiment.
For instance, the touch panel may comprise any one of one glass
solution (OGS) touch panel, in-cell touch panel and on-cell touch
panel. The structure of the OGS touch panel provided by the present
embodiment, for instance, may be as illustrated in FIG. 6e. The
touch panel as illustrated in FIG. 6e may refer to the
above-mentioned description.
[0095] For instance, in the in-cell touch panel, the touch
electrode 101 in each touch electrode group 10 or the center touch
electrode 102 and the touch electrode 101 in each touch electrode
group 10 may be disposed on a surface of an upper substrate of a
display panel facing a lower substrate or a surface of the lower
substrate facing the upper substrate. As illustrated in FIG. 7a,
the center touch electrode 102 and the touch electrode 101 in each
touch electrode group 10 are disposed on a surface of an upper
substrate 1802 of a display panel 180 facing a lower substrate
1801.
[0096] For instance, in the on-cell touch panel, the touch
electrode 101 in each touch electrode group 10 or the center touch
electrode 102 and the touch electrode 101 in each touch electrode
group 10 may be disposed on one side of an upper substrate away
from a lower substrate. As illustrated in FIG. 7b, the center touch
electrode 102 and the touch electrode 101 in each touch electrode
group 10 are disposed on one side of the upper substrate away from
the lower substrate.
[0097] The display panel 180 includes the lower substrate 1801 and
the upper substrate 1802 which are cell-assembled. For instance, a
pixel array structure is also disposed on the lower substrate 1801,
and a color filter layer, a black matrix and the like may also be
disposed on the upper substrate 1802, which are not limited
thereto. For instance, in the display panel, the touch electrodes
may be independently arranged and may also be multiplexed as common
electrodes in the display panel, which are not limited herein.
[0098] For instance, as illustrated in FIGS. 6e and 7c, the touch
panel further comprises a touch detection chip 112. In the touch
panel provided by the present embodiment, each of the wires iii is
connected to the touch detection chip 112. When a self-capacitive
touch panel is touched by a finger, the capacitance of the finger
will be overlapped to the corresponding touch electrode, and the
touch detection chip may determine a touch position by detecting
the capacitance variation of the touch electrodes in the touch
period.
Fifth Embodiment
[0099] The present embodiment provides a display device, which
comprises any one of the touch electrode structure provided by the
first embodiment, the second embodiment and the third
embodiment.
[0100] For instance, the display device further comprises a display
panel, and the touch electrode structure is disposed on the display
panel. The display device with the structure, for instance, is an
in-cell touch display panel or an on-cell touch display panel. The
touch electrode structure in the in-cell touch display panel or the
on-cell touch display panel, for instance, may refer to the fourth
embodiment, and detailed descriptions will be omitted here.
[0101] For instance, as illustrated in FIG. 7c, the display device
further comprises a display panel 180 and a touch panel 160
disposed on a display side of the display panel, and the touch
electrode structure is disposed on the touch panel. The display
device with the structure, for instance, is an OGS touch display
panel.
[0102] For instance, the display device comprises a liquid crystal
display device or an organic light-emitting diode display
device.
[0103] For instance, the display device may be a display apparatus
such as a liquid crystal display panel, an electronic paper and an
OLED (organic light-emitting diode), and a mobile phone, a
television, a digital picture frame, a mobile phone, a watch, a
tablet computer, a notebook computer, a navigation system and any
other product or component including the above-mentioned display
apparatus having a display function.
[0104] It should be noted that, in order to clearly illustrated,
not all the structures of the touch panel, the display panel or the
display device are provided. In order to achieve necessary
functions of the touch panel, the display panel or the display
device, other structures not shown may be set by those skilled in
the art according to specific application conditions, which are not
limited in the present disclosure. The technical effects of the
touch panel, the display panel or the display device provided by
the embodiment refer to the technical effects of the touch
electrode structure provided by the above-mentioned embodiments,
and detailed descriptions will be omitted here.
[0105] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide a touch
electrode structure and a touch panel and a display device
comprising the touch electrode structure. The touch electrode
structure comprises at least one touch electrode group, and at
least one touch electrode group is arranged around a center; each
touch electrode group comprises a plurality of touch electrodes,
the plurality of touch electrodes in each touch electrode group are
arranged in a direction from a position closer to the center to a
position further away from the center respectively; and a size of a
side portion of each touch electrode away from the center along a
circumferential direction is greater than a size of a side portion
of the touch electrode close to the center along a circumferential
direction. The touch electrode structure and the touch panel and
the display device comprising the touch electrode structure can
have at least one of the following advantages:
[0106] (1) The touch electrode structure provided by the embodiment
of the present disclosure may be applied in a non-rectangular touch
panel, according to the requirements, the touch electrode structure
can effectively and completely cover the non-rectangular
(irregular) touch panel, and the defects of inaccurate reporting,
poor linearity and the like caused by the incomplete coverage of
touch electrodes at edges or corners of the touch panel are
avoided. The touch electrode structure provided by the embodiments
of the present disclosure may cover the entire non-rectangular
touch panel or cover the non-rectangular touch region of the
non-rectangular touch panel (the non-rectangular touch panel
includes a non-rectangular touch region, and further includes one
or more rectangular regions, for instance, the conventional
rectangular touch electrodes may be disposed in the rectangular
regions).
[0107] (2) In the touch electrode structure provided by at least
one embodiment of the present disclosure, by proper setting of the
positions and the number of the touch electrodes, the touch panel
adopting the touch electrode structure provided by the present
embodiment can achieve a high touch uniformity.
[0108] (3) The touch electrode structure provided by at least one
embodiment may further comprise the center touch electrode. The
arrangement of the center touch electrode can increase the touch
accuracy at the center of the touch panel.
[0109] (4) The touch electrode structure provided by at least one
embodiment not only may be applied in the conventional flat touch
panel but also may be applied in curved touch panels and even
spherical touch panels due to the unique arrangement mode of touch
electrodes, and a good touch effect can be achieved.
[0110] (5) The touch electrode structure provided by at least one
embodiment may be combined with the conventional touch electrode
structures to form touch electrode structures of various
nonrectangular (irregular) touch panels, not only achieves good
touch performances but also has the characteristics of fashion and
beauty, and hence can meet various needs of users.
[0111] The following points need to be explained:
[0112] (1) The drawings of the embodiments of the present
disclosure only relate to the structures which relate to the
embodiments of the present disclosure, and other structures may
refer to the common design.
[0113] (2) For the sake of clarity, in the drawings used for
describing the embodiments of the present disclosure, the thickness
of the layer or the area is enlarged or reduced, that is, the
drawings are not drawn in the actual proportion. It can be
understood that, in the case that, an element such as a layer, a
membrane, a region or a substrate and the like is called located
"on" or "below" another element, the element can be "directly"
located "on" or "below" another element, or there may be an
intermediate element.
[0114] (3) In the absence of conflict, the different embodiments of
the present disclosure and the features of the same embodiment can
be combined to obtain a new embodiment.
[0115] What are described above is related to the illustrative
embodiments of the disclosure only and not limitative to the scope
of the disclosure, the scopes of the disclosure are defined by the
accompanying claims.
[0116] The present application claims priority of the Chinese
Patent Application No. 201510587830.3 filed on Sep. 15, 2015, the
disclosure of which are incorporated herein by its reference in its
entirety as part of the present application.
* * * * *